Scientific Papers

Here, you’ll find a list of all of the scientific papers I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of!

Liver tissue is really difficult to grow in the laboratory. In this paper, we develop a new method for expanding liver cells (hepatocytes) in vitro. We hope that this platform can be adapted to other hard-to-culture cell types.

In this review, we discuss how astrocytes and their interactions with neurons will be an important area of exploration for the drug discovery community. Image credit: Elsevier

Wolman disease is an extremely rare genetic disease with no current therapeutic options. In this paper, we develop a way to study Wolman Disease in a dish. We then use this platform to search for potential therapies for this disease. We show that the compounds delta-tocopherol and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin are effective at alleviating the disease phenotype in our model of Wolman disease. Image credit: Francis Aguisanda

In this review, we talk about Wolman Disease and Cholesteryl Ester Storage Disease, both of which are rare genetic disorders. The current state of drug development and research is described. Image Credit: Francis Aguisanda

Astrocytes are cells that are important for maintaining healthy neurons, which are the cells in the nervous system that send messages to one another. When astrocytes don’t work properly, neurons can’t survive well. This has been documented in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. In this paper, we developed a way to see whether or not drugs can protect astrocytes from sources of stress. Figure credit: Natasha Thorne.

Asthma and obesity are some of the most common chronic conditions affecting youth in the United States. In this paper, we analyze data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) and find that adolescents with obesity are more likely to be diagnosed with asthma if they are exposed to tobacco smoke in the household than non-obese adolescents. This suggests that obesity may be a significant risk factor for developing asthma in homes where smokers reside. Image credit: Informa Healthcare

High-Throughput Viability Assay Using an Autonomously Bioluminescent Cell Line with a Bacterial Lux Reporter (2015)

Journal of Laboratory Automation

Bradley Class, Natasha Thorne, Francis Aguisanda, Noel Southall, John C. McKew, and Wei Zheng

In this paper, we develop a new way to assess whether or not a chemical compound has killed the cells it came in contact with. This is known as measuring cytotoxicity, and is an important step in developing a new drug. Using this method, scientists can make sure a chemical is safe for our cells before they develop it into a therapy! Figure credit: Bradley Class.